Endoscopes are commonly used in medical procedures. They provide a surgeon with a view of internal organs, muscle, tendons and other tissue and allow the surgeon to perform various medical procedures with minimum intrusion and scarring.
An endoscope coupler or endocoupler is used to optically and physically connect an endoscope to a camera. The camera can be used to capture the image on the endoscope and transmit it for viewing on a screen and/or record the procedure. This provides a larger and easier viewed image for the surgeon during the procedure.
During the procedure the endocoupler is in close proximity to the entry point of the endoscope into the patient's body. This means the endocoupler must be sterile for safe use. Sterilization can be accomplished by running the endocoupler through an autoclave or through a sterilizing bath. Either way the endocoupler and must be water tight and capable of withstanding the sterilization process. If moisture penetrates the lens assembly it ruins the clarity of the image passing through it. Thus the endocoupler must be extremely rugged.
Prior art endocouplers have relied on complex construction to provide the needed water tight and rugged device. Many use a complicated magnet drive to focus the optical train. However such mechanisms are expensive to manufacture and susceptible to wear and tear. Further the optical train in these devices is not replaceable. Therefore what is needed is an endocoupler that is rugged enough to survive multiple sterilization cycles. The endocoupler must also be a simple design that is inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.
Further, the optical trains on prior art endocouplers rely on windows sealed to the body of the optical train. These windows do not provide any magnification of the image. Rather magnification is provided by additional lens located between the two sealing windows. This adds additional cost to the optical train. What is needed is an endocoupler design that eliminates extra windows in the optical train.